Indonesia raises alert as monkeypox cases increase to 14

Jakarta, Oct 27 (IANS) Indonesia has raised its alert against monkeypox as the number of confirmed cases increased to 14 since the first was detected on October 13, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry's Director General for Disease Prevention and Control, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, said all the patients were men, lived in Jakarta, generally aged 25 to 29 years, and had never received smallpox vaccination, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Some patients have comorbidities such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and hypertension," said Rondonuwu in a virtual press conference.

All the cases have mild symptoms, Rondonuwu added, but epidemiologists project the number could multiply to 3,600 a year without any intervention.

Currently, the ministry is intensifying education on healthy lifestyles and vaccination against monkeypox for high-risk groups.

The government is targeting 500 people or 1,000 vaccination doses and so far, it has reached at least 157 people.